Constellation Europe chooses E2e suite from RedPrairie

RedPrairie, a consumer driven optimisation company, announced that Constellation Europe, part of Constellation Brands, the largest wine company in the world, has chosen a number of RedPrairie’s supply chain software solutions for its 870,000 sq ft bonded warehouse and bottling plant being commissioned at Avonmouth UK.

The energy-efficient facility with 80,000 pallet positions and many docking doors is due to open in October 2008. At 35 acres - the size of 12 football pitches - the new site is set to treble Constellation Europe’s existing warehousing and bottling capacity.

The new facility will be the largest bonded warehouse in Europe and the largest wine-packaging facility in the UK.

In addition to warehousing and distribution, the state-of-the-art facility will also handle the bottling of bulk-imported wine from South Africa, Australia and the United States, an activity that was previously carried out at the company’s Whitchurch site.

Constellation will be using Warehouse Management, Duty Management, Yard Management and Workforce Management from RedPrairie’s E2e suite. RedPrairie’s Warehouse Management and Duty Management solutions are designed to improve duty management at the modern facility that is pioneering the use of light weighted glass to reduce carbon emissions in the manufacture and transport of bottles.

The RedPrairie suite of software provides Constellation Europe, a company that has grown by 50% in the last 10 years and has ambitious expansion plans, with a flexible, configurable, fully integrated solution for all its current and future needs.

Using RedPrairie’s Warehouse Management solution is intended to streamline picking and packing processes through the automation of the distribution centre while providing real-time control for exception monitoring.

RedPrairie’s advanced optimisation algorithms are designed to help Constellation Europe extend visibility into the efficiency of its operations and increase performance against all major KPI’s as it meets its goal of increasing market share while cutting operating costs.

It is anticipated that RedPrairie’s built-in duty management solution, unique among leading WMS providers, will simplify integration and cut the cost of implementation, maintenance and technology upgrades. Duty Management is the most comprehensive international trade and customs compliance suite available from a single supplier and can help reduce an importer’s tax bill by up to 40% by deferring duty and VAT payments until goods are shipped to customers.

Implementing RedPrairie’s Workforce Management solution is designed to give Constellation Europe a strategic tool for increasing the productivity of warehouse operatives and deliver real-time intelligence for planning and forecasting.

RedPrairie’s Yard Management will dynamically assign trucks to docking doors to reduce bottlenecks in the yard, as well as leverage cross docking opportunities. This is intended to help speed the flow of freight and maximise the utilisation of resources and labour.

Constellation Europe chose RedPrairie’s E2e suite for its breadth of functionality that will enable the company to meet most of its needs out of the box. Its scalability offers best value for money for an expanding business while its built-in rather than bolt-on duty management solution eliminates the cost of building and maintaining interfaces.

RedPrairie’s SOA-based architecture enables third party solutions to be integrated into the suite without time-consuming, costly customisations and provides configurable workflow that enables customers to adapt processes to meet their changing requirements. Constellation Europe’s growing operations in continental Europe can be supported by RedPrairie’s extensive pan-European resources.

“We are confident that RedPrairie’s E2e suite will help us work smarter in all areas by streamlining warehouse management processes, optimising labour productivity and deferring duty and VAT payments while cutting technology cost of ownership through a single, integrated technology suite.”

“We are delighted that Constellation Europe has chosen RedPrairie as a strategic partner for all its supply chain management needs as it reinforces its commitment to lean, agile, efficient and environmentally sound operating practices at Avonmouth,” comments RedPrairie President and Managing Director International, Martin Hiscox.

“RedPrairie has the skills and resources to match Constellation Europe’s needs and we are confident that our end-to-end solutions will help them cut process times, reduce costs and generate competitive advantage.”

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